Cold as Ice
by Firstlady1408
Summary: Martha and Aaron Post Day 5. The First Lady and her favourite agent are caught in a cold situation. My first fic so would appreciate reviews I have two sequels done as well if you like this! Continued in Hot as Summer..
1. Chapter 1

Martha sat in the cold, black limousine staring out of the window. The rain was coming down heavier now, making patterns on the cool pane of glass she rested her head on. Perfect weather, she thought. The bleakness of the sky had rolled over the ceremony at Arlington halfway through Davids funeral and cast a shadow over the hundreds of mourners. It was there she had first noticed him standing half hidden in the midst of black suited agents. But she would recognize that red hair anywhere. A small smile flitted across her face, and she just managed to stop a small gasp from escaping her lips. This was not the time, but she couldnt help the butterflies that fluttered through her stomach. It was an effort, but she managed to tear her glance back to the priest. Still, she couldnt help casting one final glance his way...she gasped audibly this time as his eyes bore a hole, it seemed, deep into her very soul. With difficulty, she finally looked away, and then he was forgotten as David was finally lowered into the muddy ground.

She walked back to her car with two agents on either side of her -- one of the perks of being the First Lady, at least for the next few days.

She called to one of the agents, " Agent ..." Dammit, she could never remember their names, a problem she never had with Aaron.

"It's Agent Collins, Ma'am."

"I'm sorry, Agent Collins. I saw Agent Pierce during the service -- could you possibly find him and tell him I would like to see him?" The agent looked slightly bemused, but did as she asked, and less than a minute later, Aaron was standing in front of her.

"Hello, Aaron," she whispered.

"Mrs Logan." His bruised face made her inwardly shudder at what her husband had put him through.

"Aaron, I know this may seem like an odd request, but would you ride with me back to the ranch? I...I know I have new agents assigned to me, but I would feel so much safer if..."

"That would be fine, Mrs Logan." He didnt have to say anything else; she knew he could read her face, knew that she only felt safe when he was near her. She knew after today everything would change -- she would no longer be First Lady, and Aaron would be assigned God only knows where. She wanted ...no she needed this last moment with him.

She sat with her face against the cool pane of bulletproof glass, staring out at the murky sky while Aaron sat opposite her. She had insisted he ride in back, although looking at his awkward posture she was sure he would have felt more comfortable in the front with the other agents. But if this was going to be their last meeting, she was going to make sure she had him near to her, at least for the next few hours. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Aaron cleared his throat and mumbled something under his breath.

"I'm sorry, Aaron, I was in a world of my own." Martha was pulled back to the present.

"I said I was sorry I wasn't there...I mean at the airfield." He scooted to the edge of his seat and looked deep into her eyes. "I heard the recording." Martha quickly looked down at her lap, unsure of where this was going.

"No, no.. I meant I know he hit you, and I'm sorry that I wasn't there to protect you." Martha looked up and saw just for a second a flicker of genuine emotion in his eyes as his eyes gently welled up. She knew he felt he had failed in his duty to protect her, but this was something different, something...

The explosion came out of nowhere -- the front of the car lurched forward, and Martha found herself flung across the seat into Aaron's arms. He grabbed hold of her and pushed her so she was lying flat on the floor. Martha found herself thinking rather inappropiately that she seemed to be seeing a lot of car floors recently. Before she had time to adjust her thinking to something more appropiate, her life yet again seemed to be in danger...Aaron had grabbed her arms and pulled her rather ungraciously out of the side door.

"Martha, keep low, and don't leave my side, okay?" Aaron said, while shooting over the top of the opened door. "When I say run...you run." Martha held her body as close as was humanly possible against Aaron's so close she could feel the kickback from every shot he fired. Her face was buried in his back, so she could not see what he was shooting at, but they were still standing, so she thought he must be hitting his targets.

"Run!" The word that came out of his mouth was said with such a sense of urgency that Martha did the opposite -- her feet felt as if they had been crazy-glued to the ground.

"Martha, listen to me. We have to go. Martha!" Aaron looked at his charge and could see the terror in her eyes. He knew he had to take control of her quickly, or they were both dead. "Martha, look at me!" Using both his hands, he grabbed her face so she was facing him, his gun resting against her cheek. "Martha, we have to go now."

She looked at him with such fear in her eyes that all Aaron wanted to do was scoop her up in his arms and run for the hills. However, logic told him he could not do that and shoot his weapon. He had taken out all visible hostiles, but that didn't mean there weren't more around the corner. After a quick scan of his surroundings, he had seen what looked like an abandoned factory about 50 yards ahead. If he could just get her moving, they could take shelter while he called for help. He looked back again at Martha, whose whole body seemed to be trembling from the inside out, and knew he had to do something drastic. Gritting his teeth, he pulled back his hand and slapped her hard across her face. The second his palm met her cool soft face she stopped shaking and looked at him with a mixture of relief and surprise. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the direction of the factory. Stumbling, she moved with him up the hill, her heels sticking in the muddy ground.

"Aaron, wait!" she shouted as her perfectly formed Manolo Blahnik heel caught in the dirt.

"Leave it!" Aaron shouted and half dragged her stockinged foot along the muddy ground. "Nearly there -- just a few more yards," he called back to her. As his face turned to her, she noticed his eyes cast a glance over her shoulder, and for a second she saw a flicker of fear there.

"What is it?" she yelled. The wind and rain made it almost impossible to see him as her once perfectly wedding-caked hair slapped in her eyes.

"Just keep running!" he shouted back.

Never one to let curiosity hold her back, Martha looked over her shoulder, and what she saw made her beautiful blue eyes open as wide as a newborn baby's. "Aaron, there's more..."

"I know! Just keep running...we're nearlly there." She had seen what he had noticed only seconds before --another three men were gaining on them, and from what Aaron could see in the rain, they were certainly not friendlies.

Aaron stopped so suddenly that Martha, still running, almost rebounded off his back into the mud. "What..." she cried.

"In here!" Aaron came behind her and pushed her gently into the gray buliding they had reached.

"Where are we?" Martha called back to Aaron, who still stood at the door glancing in all directions.

"I don't know, but we need to find cover. They're nearly on us." He regretted the words the second they were out of his mouth, as Martha again instantly froze. Aaron quickly looked out of the door one last time then gently moved over to where she was standing and trembling like a newborn lamb. "Martha, I promise you I will not let you come to any harm, but you have to do exactly what I say -- alright? And we will get out of here."

Tentatively he reached his hand up to her cheek and softly rubbed the spot where only seconds earlier her had struck her. "I will get you out of here, Martha -- I promise," he whispered.

"O.k I trust you Aaron" Martha repilied nervously, and with a tentative grin said " lead the way Agent Pierce"

Aaron scanned the large building and quickly pulled her up one, and then two flights of stairs. Looking across a gray room with hooks hanging from the ceiling, he noticed a small room to the far right of the floor. "Quick, in here!" he shouted as he took her hand and ushered her into the dark, cold room. The speed they were running meant they came to an abrupt halt at the far end of the room, Aaron fell into Martha's back.

"Ow!" she gasped.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" He pulled her around so she was facing him.

"No, Aaron... you could never do that," Martha said, almost in a whisper. They stood in silence, as once again he was captivated by those beautiful blue orbs which gazed at him so trustingly he almost couldn't bear it. "Martha..." he whispered, taking a step closer to her. In that moment, they both jumped, their hearts pounding at the noise that had just disturbed the moment that passed between them. Aaron quickly turned gun aimed at the open door to find the door was no longer open. The huge iron slab that separated them from this cell to the outside world had closed behind them.

"Um... Aaron?" Martha took a step forward. "Where's the door handle?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, they can't have gotten far, we're in a open building, for Christ's sake." Graham's right-hand man swept his long blonde hair off his face and turned to the man standing, gun cocked, at the top of the stairs.

"I'm telling you, they came up here." The man cast his eyes across the unfamiliar surroundings. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Tucker's slaughterhouse. " the blonde man replied, "Been empty for the last few months. Look, you go up to the next floor -- I'll just check this level out." He turned and wrinkled his nose. "Let's just get this done. It smells like my grandmother's dog in here." The second man spun on his heel and moved silently to the next flight of stairs.

"What do you mean, we're locked in?" Martha asked Aaron for the second time.

"I mean, Martha, that we are locked in -- my answer hasn't changed since the last time you asked me." Aaron stopped pacing round the small cold room and looked at her. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to snap, but this isn't over yet -- please just let me listen." He returned to his vigil by the iron door, his ear pressed against it.

"Can you hear anything?" Martha whispered in his ear, her hair softly touching his rapidly glowing cheek.

"Please, Mrs Logan, I need to concentrate."

"I was just aski..."

"Martha, please." Aaron usually had the patience of a saint, but there was something about this woman that made him lose all sense of reality. And as nice as it was having her in such close proximity, his main objective was to get the two of them out of this mess alive, and he couldn't do that as long as he was aware of the faint smell of strawberries that seemed to eminate from her hair. He gently but firmly took her by the arm and led her to the far side of the room, if a room that small could have a far side. "Please, just sit there while I see if I can hear anything." He gestured to some crates that were stacked by the wall, and with a deep sigh she sat down.

Aaron quickly resumed his position at the door and felt his way around each of the sides. This wasn't looking good; there was, as Martha had earlier pointed out, no handle, and no visible means of an exit. And for all he knew, there could be 50 hostiles with flame throwers on the other side of the door just waiting to open it. No, things were not looking good at all.

"Robbins! Down here!" the blonde-haired man called to his associate as he pushed his way through the metal hooks suspended from the ceiling. "What is it?" he shouted, as he, too, came down the stairs to join his associate.

"I've found them, look!" He pointed a grubby hand at the door.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" His companion drew his weapon and headed toward the door.

"No."

"No?"

"Look." The taller of the two men pointed to the small object affixed to the wall beside the door, then began to laugh cruelly. "From what I can tell, a bullet in the head would be too quick for these two, and far too easily traced back to certain people who don't want to be traced." He headed toward the thermostat, and with a flick of his wrist, turned the switch to its lowest setting. The low buzz of electricity echoed round the room as the still active freezer control kicked into action. "This way it's an accident...a terrible, terrible accident."

With one final look at the door, the blonde-haired man laughed and ushered Robbins down the stairs. Robbins took a last look at the door. He didn't know who was in there; his job was on a need-to-know basis only. But he couldn't help the small flicker of guilt as the door disappeared from view. Whoever was in there was going to die a slow and horrible death.

"What is it, Aaron?" Martha asked from her precarious perch on the crates.

"Shhh! I can hear something." He unholsetered his weapon and took two steps back from the door, his aim calm and ready. He waited; a minute turned to two, then to five. Nothing. Silence.

"Aaron, please -- you're scaring me. What is going on?" Martha again queried, her voice betraying a small tremor.

"I think they've gone," he replied, and slowly put his gun away. He turned to look at her and immediately felt a rush of sympathy for her. She sat rigidly, arms hugging herself, and her face was a picture of sheer terror. He took another step towards her.

"It's alright, Martha; we're safe." Slowly, he knelt beside her trembling figure and gently placed his hands on her crossed arms. "They've gone." Martha seemed to uncurl herself from her uptight posture, and began to look more relaxed.

"Are you sure?" she shakily replied.

"They would have come in if they could have. We're safe for the moment."

She quickly stood up and closed the small distance separating them. "For the moment? What if they come back? What if we're not found?" Her eyes asked a million questions that he just did not have the answer to. Without thinking, he stood and placed his hands on either side of her face and gently stroked her elegant cheekbones. "I said I'd keep you safe, Martha, and I will." Slipping his hands around her slender neck he slowly pulled her towards him.

Martha felt his strong hands slipping around her, and for one brief moment, she forgot everything. Forgot they had nearlly been gunned down by God only knew who, forgot that only a few hours ago she had watched one of her dearest friends being lowered in the ground, forgot that they were trapped, with no apparent way out. She just felt her body slowly relax into his embrace. After a few blissful seconds, she pulled away. Aaron, puzzled, stared at her. It was stupid and she knew it, but the one thing she hadn't forgotten was that she had lost one of her shoes. She could feel the cold tile of the floor beneath her, and it was the oddest feeling. She wasn't sure if it was her anxiety, but she could have sworn the ground was slowly growing colder beneath her foot.

"Are you alright, Mrs. Logan?" Ever the professional, Aaron, without noticing, had slipped back into the role of her protector.

"I'm fine; I'm just a little cold," she replied.

"Here, take this." Aaron deftly shrugged out of his suit jacket, and amidst her protestations, slipped it around her shoulders. He stepped back and stifled a chuckle. She looked so...so...the only word he could think of was adorable. Standing there with only one shoe, her stockinged foot slightly lifted off the floor and tucked behind her other leg, her hair rain-soaked and plastered against her face, and his jacket nearly swamping her...Yes, although he could never voice it, _adorable_ was the perfect word for her.

"Okay, let's find a way out of this place, huh?" And with that, the thought had gone from his head, and he scanned the room looking for any obvious sign of escape.

"Dammit," Aaron swore, and kicked the iron door that separated them from the world outside. It had been well over an hour, and he was no closer to finding a way out for them both. There were no windows, barely any light, and even though he had forfeited his jacket to the woman with him, he knew it would make little difference -- the room had been, and was, growing steadily colder. He kicked the door again and cursed, watching as a plume of smoke seemed to weave its way out his mouth. This was not good. The room he had pulled them into, the one he had dragged Martha into with him was quite obviously a storage freezer, and though he didn't know how, it was active. Slowly the room's temperature was dropping. In a gesture of desperation, and because he had run out of all options for a possible escape, he hit the door hard with his fist, gasping as the combination of the pain and the cold made him yet again curse out loud. Martha looked up from the corner she had curled up in. She could tell by his actions that Aaron was losing hope of them ever getting out of this mess. She had never seen him so impatient, and so...so...well, out of control. This, more than their situation, was scaring her. She was so used to seeing Aaron as infallible, her knight in shining armour. Watching him as frustrated as this was frightening. She watched again as he struck the door with his bare hands, and jumped to her feet as he cried out in pain, clutching his hand to his chest.

"Let me see."

"I'm fine."

"I said, let me see." She reached out for his freezing hand and took it in her own. He hadn't broken the skin, but she could see the telltale signs of a bruise beginning to appear. After a minute of gently stroking it, he pulled it back from her slender grasp. "It's fine."

Martha could feel herself slowly bubbling up with anger. "It's obviously not fine. Kicking and punching that slab of steel is not going to get us out of here, Aaron; it's only going to hurt you. And as much as I know you think this is your fault, it isn't, and hurting yourself is not going to make things better. I can cope with being locked in here, I can cope with the cold. But what I cannot cope with is watching you in pain. Do you understand me?"

He looked over at her, shocked, and saw the look of determination and anger in her eyes. My God, he thought, Charles had seriously underestimated his wife. From what he was seeing, Martha was made of stronger stuff than they had all thought. If the prospect of dying in a freezer with an aging Secret Service Agent was scaring her, she was certainly hiding it well. Indeed, if the look in her eye was anything to go by, she was more worried about him and his pain than her own.

"I'm sorry. It's just, I promised you I'd get you out of this, and I just can't see how." What was it about this woman? He had protected and served senators, even presidents, but when he looked at her face, he could feel his own eyes welling up. "I made you a promise." He said it as if that said it all.

Slowly she closed the gap between them again, and reached up to touch his face. Feeling the stubble under her fingers, she gently stroked his cheek. "Aaron, I know if you could move heaven and earth to save me, you would, but in this instance, you can't. But just knowing you would if you could makes it all alright. But we have to accept this. We are trapped. No one knows where we are; no one is coming to help. If I am going to spend my last moments in this room, I am glad they are with you, and no one else. Please stop now, Aaron. Stop."

Aaron looked at his watch: 7:30 pm. They had been trapped in the freezer for going on four hours now. After Martha's impassioned speech, they had both retreated to the corner and sat shoulder to shoulder on the hard, cold floor. "I'm sorry, Martha, this is all my..." Before he could finish his apology, she had reached over and place a perfectly manicured finger over his lips.

"Shh. Please, Aaron, this is not your fault. If we weren't in here, we'd be lying in the street with a bullet in our heads by now." Slowly, and with some difficulty, she turned so she was kneeling in front of his body. "At least this way I get to spend some time with my favorite agent." She gave him a half smile and was pleased when he reciprocated. "I'm cold." She gave a half laugh. "How 'bout you?"

"You're amazing."

Martha literally shook her head, not sure she had heard him correctly. "I'm sorry?"

"I said, you are amazing. I mean, here we are, about to die, and you can still find a way to make me smile."

Martha sat up on her knees and gazed intently into his eyes. "I know that we are close to impending doom." There it was, that little smile again that made his heart race. "But there is a better way to keep warm." Shuffling closer towards him, she gently nudged open his knees and fitted her body into the space in between his legs. "Hold me, Aaron."

"Hold me, Aaron." Three little words -- that was all it took to shake his world to the very core. Almost without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace. She had been trembling, but it seemed as if the second he took possesion of her body, she stopped and relaxed completely into his embrace. They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, his arms wound tight around her and her legs hooked possesively over his knees. Her head was buried in the crook of his shoulder, and he could feel her sweet breath against his neck...her breath. Was it his imagination, or was it becoming faster... almost little gasps?

"Aaron. We haven't got long." He tightened his hold on her and began to protest. "No, Aaron, I can feel it. I'm so cold, I almost can't feel my body. But it's strange... I can't feel my own body, but I can feel yours."

Again, he increased his hold on her and firmly kissed the top of her sweet-smelling hair. "I'm here, Martha."

"I know you are, and that's what I want to tell you. You always have been there. And I don't just mean on "that" day. Although, you were the one person that got me through it -- that made me believe I could. You've always been there, even when you weren't." With some difficulty, she lifted her head from the crook of his shoulder and looked intently into his eyes. "After Charles was taken away at the airfield, you were there. After I got back to the Ranch, and was all alone in my room, you were there. In the car, on the way to one of my dearest friends' funeral, you were there. And then finally, at the funeral, you were actually there. When I saw your face, I felt ashamed, ashamed because I was burying my dear, dear friend, and all I could think of when I saw you was that you were there. You've always been with me, Aaron, and I think its only now that I'm beginning to realize it. No matter how cloudy and bleak my day was, when I felt you with me, the sun broke through the clouds and shined down on me." She gently placed both her hands on his cheeks and slowly reached forward to place a chaste, but oh-so-sweet kiss against his dry lips. "You were always there, and now you are here, and I can't go without you knowing you are the most important person in my life, and you have been for a long while." Pulling away from his face she looked deeply again into his eyes and then resumed her earlier positon in the crook of his neck. Her breath now coming in short shallow gasps.

Aaron sat holding her in his arms, not knowing what to say. If truth be known, he was still struck dumb from her kiss. Even though their lips were dry and cold, it had sent a heatwave coursing throughout his body. She was his life, too -- he had known that from the first moment he had laid eyes on her. He had sworn an oath to protect and serve, and internally he had sworn to keep her from harm. And now as she lay in his arms all he could think of was that he had failed her. He pressed his lips again to her silken gold hair and slowly but very deliberately began to talk.

"The first time I saw you was at the retreat. You had come with Charles to visit President Palmer on some state matter, and I was crossing the grounds with them when you came on a horse, galloping over the hill. You stopped a few feet from us and took off your helmet. I remember watching you, thinking you were some sort of mirage, you were so beautiful, so happy. You laughed and slid from the horse into your husbands arms, and I remember thinking I would have given every experience in my life to be able to hold you like that. You smiled at me -- do you remember? and walked back to the stables." He laughed slightly. "You know, I think that was the first and only time I ever took my eyes off the President. I watched you walk the horse back until you disappeared. Then when you came to the White House, I vowed I would never let a moment's harm come to you. Of course, I had heard the rumors that you were unstable, even insane. But all I saw was this chrysallis trapped in its cocoon, unable to blossom into a butterfly. You so often seemed unhappy, and to hear you now say those things to me...makes me well...You are the most important person in my life, too, Martha, and I can't go without you knowing that, too." He stopped and waited for some kind of response. Nothing. He had been so caught up in what he was saying that he hadn't noticed that her grip on him had slackened, and her head now hung limply on his chest.

"MARTHA!" he shouted, pulling her unresponsive body to the floor. She fell from his arms to the floor, and with the specks of ice touching her beautiful face, she looked just like a porcelain doll. He tilted back her head and opened her mouth. lowering his lips to hers he prayed to his God. Nothing. After trying this over and over, he eventually slumped to the floor beside her, gathering her in his arms, and awaited his fate.

"Agent Pierce...Agent Pierce? Can you hear me?" He awoke to find himself in a moving vehicle, sirens blaring... an ambulance! He was alive. "Where am I?" he whispered; the words hurt his throat.

"On our way to the hospital. Don't worry -- you'll be fine." The CTU agent looked down at him with sympathetic eyes. "We found the limo, and after sweeping the area, finally found you and Mrs. Logan locked in the room."

Mrs. Logan...Martha... Martha...He scanned the ambulance and saw he was the only one lying on a gurney.

Finding the strength from God only knows where, he lifted himself up into a sitting position. "Marth...I mean Mrs. Logan... where is she? Is she alright? She was unconscious." The words came out in a shout that made the CTU agent jump in his seat. "Please, where is she? You have to tell me."

The CTU agent gently pushed Aaron back onto the bed. "Please, Agent Pierce, you've been through a lot; you need to rest."

"If you don't tell me where Martha is, right now, I swear to God I will stop this ambulance and look for her myself. Now, where is she?"

The CTU agent looked down at him, a sad expression beginning to appear on his face. Aaron felt his heart sink into his shoes.

"I'm sorry, Agent Pierce. Mrs. Logan is..."


	3. Chapter 3

"Mrs. Logan is _what_?" Aaron pulled the monitors attached to his chest, and winced as the leads ripped at his chest hair. "Please, you have to tell me -- is she...tell me she's not...?"

The agent looked at him with a mixture of confusion and surprise. "Mrs. Logan is in a much worse state than you, I'm afraid. She is suffering from a severe case of hyperthermia."

Aaron's heart slowed from a sprint to a fast walk. "You mean, she's not...she's alive?" His body slowly relaxed, and he allowed himself to partially lie back down on the gurney. "Where is she?"

"She went in the ambulance before you. I'm not going to lie to you, Agent Pierce; she's in pretty bad shape. But from what the paramedic said, she should pull through. You were lucky -- another hour, and you'd be on your way to the morgue."

Aaron ignored the insensitive comment made by the agent as his mind reeled with the news that Martha was alive. She was alive. His last memory had been of her lifeless body next to his on the cold, hard floor. He remembered holding her close to him, as if in some way he could transfer his life to her. Before he, too, had drifted into a blissful state of unconsciousness, he remembered holding her close and allowing his hands to entangle in her sweet-smelling hair -- hair that was now brittle from the rain that had frozen. Still, to him, it was the softest, most precious thing in the world. Lifting her face to his, he had placed a gentle kiss on her blue lips and curled his body around hers, thinking how unfair that after all that had been said he could only hold her in death. This had been his last thought as he no longer fought the overwhelming urge to close his eyes and join her. His Martha.

Alive. Now that he had this information, he allowed himself to lie back on the bed, while a fussy paramedic reattached the heart monitor to him. Slowly, as the attendant injected something into his arm, he felt himself drift back off into a deep sleep, a sleep in which the previous image of a lifeless Martha had been replaced by a sweet memory of her smile.

Coughing: a simple thing that most people do without realizing it. But at this moment, it was something Martha Logan was having great difficulty doing. She tried again, a small gesture just to clear her throat from the blockage she could feel there. Again, nothing. Beginning to feel frustrated, she sat up quickly. But as quickly as she sat up, something was pulling her back.

"Ah, Mrs. Logan! You're back with us." A woman in white scrubs stood at the foot of her bed, giving her a generous smile. She moved to the side of the bed and looked Martha in the eyes. "Please don't try to talk; we had to intubate you. You've had a hell of a day, I hear."

Flashes seemed to appear before Martha's eye -- the limousine being attacked, being shut in a small room, Aaron..._Oh my god, Aaron. _Sheheard a low gutteral sound eminating from her throat. _What had happened to Aaron? Was he alive? _She remembered his warm arms, even in the freezing room, wrapped tightly around her. Turning her head, she scanned the room to get her bearings and there it was, lying on the easy chair next to her bed...his jacket. And as if someone had turned on a faucet in her brain, it all came flooding back: Aaron giving her his jacket, his frustration at not seeing a way out of their predicament, her plea to him to stop and just be with her, and her confession. Oh, God, she had opened her heart to him! Frustrated, she again tried to sit up, but this time was gently pushed back down by the nurse.

"Please, Mrs. Logan. We have to remove the tube in your throat, then you can sit up and even have a little water."

A little water! She didn't want a little water! She wanted Aaron, and from what she remembered telling him in the freezer, it was not just a little.

"Now, when I say, I want you to exhale as deeply as possible." The nurse told her, taking the tube coming through her throat in one hand. "Now!" Martha exhaled deeply and felt the tubing slide up her throat and finally out. She coughed twice.

"Now, how about some water?" Little Miss Sunshine was beginning to get on her nerves.

Martha opened her mouth to protest; she didn't want the damn water, she just wanted to know Aaron was safe and nearby. But the second she opened her mouth, the tube was replaced by a plastic straw. Giving in, Martha took a long sip, and nearly choked as the water made its way down her red, raw throat.

"Easy now, just small sips."

Martha took another, smaller drink from the straw, and she had to admit it gently soothed a path to her stomach.

"Please, I have to know. I was with a frien...I mean, the head of my Secret Service detail. His name is Aaron Pierce." The words came out low and huskily as her throat became used to talking again. "Please, I need to know if he is alright."

She would take as many sips from the damn straw that Little Miss Perky was again offering if she would just answer her question. Was Aaron alive?

"Oh, yes, Agent Pierce -- he was discharged a little over three hours ago. He left. Now I will be back in 15 minutes to check your vitals. If you need me, just press the little red button." And with a toss of her hair, she left the room.

Discharged! He was alive. Martha gently eased herself up to a sitting position. He was alive -- he had promised he would stay with her and he had. Wait. What had her nurse said? He had left three hours ago. THREE HOURS AGO! Why wasn't he here? Why hadn't he stayed? Oh, Martha, she chastised herself. What have you done? She lay gingerly back down on her pillow and tried to remember what she had said to him. She knew she had been honest, certainly more honest than she had been to herself over the last few weeks. And then it came to her as clear as anything _"You were always there, and now you are here, and I can't go without you knowing you are the most important person in my life, and you have been for a long while." _Those were the last words she had said to him, and now he wasn't here. She had obviously completely misread the signals. "You fool." She said out loud, a lone tear escaping from her left eye. What had she done? He had comforted her; she remembered that much, but he had thought he had failed her, of course he was feeling guilty. And now she was beginning to think she had lost what they had. What he obviously thought was all they had. Their friendship. Slowly she turned her head into her pillow and the lone tear became many more as she began to quietly sob.

Aaron sat in the driver's seat of the car he had borrowed with a big smile on his face. He was headed back to the hospital. Once he had been told Martha was going to be alright, and would be under sedation for at least another three to four hours, he had finally left his vigil by her bedside.

She had looked so small lying in bed in the private room. When he had finally been discharged by his doctor, he had headed straight for her room, and what he first saw made him gasp. She was asleep and looked peaceful, but the tubes running from her mouth and her arm once again brought about the faint stirring of guilt he had been overwhelmed with in the freezer. He walked over to the bed and gently stroked a loose piece of hair from her face; she didn't stir. He stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, and just gazed at her, all the while thinking how close he had come to losing her.

The moment was broken by a nurse entering the room with the biggest smile he had seen. She shooed him from the bed and had injected something into Martha's intrevenous line.

"Will she be alright?" Aaron asked, a slight tremor in his voice nearly betraying his usual calm exterior.

"Don't you worry, Agent Pierce," the smiley nurse had replied. "Another couple of hours, and she will be awake and right as rain."

She turned to walk out of the room, and not noticing, Aaron had kept talking. "Please, let her know if she wakes up, I've gone to pick up some of her things, but I'll be coming right back." He had been so focused on the figure lying in front of him, he hadn't noticed that the nurse had already left the room.

Taking Martha's hand in his, he bent forward slightly so his mouth was by her ear. "I have to go, Martha, but I promise I will be back before you wake up." Straightening himself, he glanced out of the window of her room and noticed two agents keeping guard. She would be in safe hands. Looking back at the person sleeping soundly in front of him, he resisted the urge to place a small kiss on her forehead and left the room. Yes, he would be back. And when she awoke, everything would be alright.

He found himself singing along to an old Johnny Cash song that had come on the car radio. As he had promised, he had broken numerous speed limits to collect her things and return swiftly to her side. Smiling to himself again, he remembered what she had said to him in the freezer, such sweet things that made his cheeks flush. He had known that there was something between them. The day he had left her in the stable to go with Mike had been the most difficult moment of his life. It had taken all his willpower not to take her with him. Instead, he had stared at her through the back window until she had disappeared from sight. He honestly thought after that day he would never see her again, and although they had gone through hell today, he honestly had never been happier in his life. He smiled to himself again as he turned the car into the hospital's parking lot. He would be seeing her again very soon.

"Mrs. Logan, you have a visitor!" Nurse Pollyanna poked her head through the door of Martha's room. " Now, no more than a few minutes. We don't want you to over-exert yourself."

Martha gave a sarcastic smile back to the nurse and quickly grabbed a tissue to mop up the remaining tears that had fallen from her blue eyes. She wondered who it could be. She really didn't want to see anyone. It was probably Mike, or maybe her sister. She gingerly moved herself into a sitting position and winced as she accidentally tugged at the line coming out of her hand. She looked down to check she hadn't pulled it out -- that would be just typical! -- and then lifted her eyes to greet her visitor. She gasped.

"You're awake! They told me you'd be out for hours." Aaron exclaimed as he moved from the doorway to stand by her bedside, placing her overnight bag on the floor. "How are you feeling?"

How was she feeling? Hurt, confused and extremely humiliated. Well, she would make this as easy as possible for him. After all, he had saved her life again. She knew deep inside that things would never be the same between them again. She had seen to that. She would be gracious and allow him to leave as quickly as possible.

"I feel fine, Agent Pierce. A little groggy, but fine." Dammit, the voice she heard coming out of her mouth was cold and too befitting of the First Lady than a friend. "Once again, I should be thanking you. You saved my life. I don't remember much about what happened, but I do remember the gunfire, and I just wanted to say thank you for getting me away from all that."

Aaron looked at her, and for no more than a second, a confused look swept across his face. This wasn't what he had expected. After her confession in the freezer, he thought they had crossed a line. A line that had always been visible but never before today been crossed. And now hearing her matter-of-fact tone of voice, he realized that, in the space of a few short hours, their positions had swiftly reverted back to First Lady and Protector.

"Well." He cleared his throat before backing away slightly from the bed. "Again, you're welcome. Although, if I recall, it was me that got us into that damn freezer in the first place."

"You were doing your job, Aaron. You had no idea what would happen. You did exactly what you thought was right at the time."

"So..." He took a chance and looked intently into her eyes. " you remember being in the freezer, then?"

As soon as he spoke, she shifted her gaze to stare at the sheets knotted between her fingers. Taking a deep breath, she looked him square in the eye and again knew she had to let him off the hook. "Of course. I mean I remember you trying to find a way out, you hurting your hand. I remember being resigned to the fact we were going to die, and then it's...it's…" Again taking a deep breath, she finished, "It's all a blank." She smiled at him. "And now here I am."

Aaron listened intently to all she had to say, and immediately inwardly chastised himself. What had he been thinking? Of course the things she had said had at the time seemed true, but the woman had thought she was going to die. She was probably delirious from the cold. He closed his eyes and felt the room begin to close in on him. He had to get out of there, and fast. Opening his eyes, he saw Martha looking in confusion at him. He had not spoken for a while, and probably looked a complete idiot, standing swaying gently with his eyes closed. Clearing his throat again, he spoke -- the words coming out softly and little more than a whisper. "I see." It was his way of letting her know he understood, and he would bow gracefully out of the room. Slowly he turned back to the bed and with an air of formality said, "Well, your agents are here now; I've brought you some things," he gestured to the bag. " So I'll go and let you get some rest. He moved towards the closed door.

Martha's mind raced, her thoughts coming so quickly she barely had time to make sense of one before another arrived. The internal battle raged on in her head. Had she been wrong? She had thought she was doing the right thing. But he seemed almost upset at the thought of her not remembering what she had said. Maybe he did care. Oh, hell, Martha! she thought, stop him now before he walks out of your life for good. But what if he doesn't feel the same way? Your friendship would be ruined! It's already been ruined. You might have made him think you can't remember what you said, but he certainly will. You have nothing to lose here!

"Aaron!" Her voice echoed in the small room. "Wait!"

He stopped moving towards the door, but kept his back to her as she slowly but meticulously began to talk.

"I lied."

He turned to face her. "About what, Mrs. Logan?"

"About us... I mean, in the freezer. Please...please don't go." Her voice was so small and childlike, Aaron felt a tug at his heartstrings. But he resumed his position beside her bed and looked at her. She wouldn't meet his eyes, but instead played with a loose thread on her sheet.

"Aaron. I know what I said to you. I remember every single word I spoke. I remember asking you to hold me. I remember feeling your arms around me and...I remember telling you how I felt...I mean feel." She stopped and quickly glanced up at his face, half expecting to see abject horror in his eyes. Instead what she saw made her heart lift slightly, and she felt the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile. He was looking right at her and smiling as if what she had said had ironed out all the creases in his face.

"Then why...?"

"Why did I lie?"

"Yes."

"When I woke up and found you weren't here I thought I'd scared you off. I know I can let my emotions take over my mouth sometimes, and I thought I had said too much." She again began to play with her newfound friend, the cotton thread.

"But, Martha," Aaron moved even closer to her, "I told the nurse to let you know I'd gone to get your things. They told me you would be unconscious for hours. I was here as soon as the doctors had finished with me. I told the nurse to let you know I would be right back."

Martha laughed softly. "If it was the same nurse who was here when I woke up, I'm not surprised she forgot to tell me. You know, I swear she's been on the laughing gas – no one can be that happy!"

Aaron moved to sit on the edge of her bed, and she felt the sheets tug at her as his body weight moved the mattress down and she felt herself slip sideways gently toward him.

" You know, I think I have gone beyond humiliation now, Aaron, so I want you to know that everything I said in that freezer, every word – they were the truest words I ever spoke. You have been on my mind every waking minute since I saw you leave at the stables, and even if you think I'm the crazy woman everyone says I am, and never want to see me again. I...I…" She stopped and moved her hand so that it covered his. It felt warm and familiar. She had never felt so sure of herself, and the words she was about to say. Looking him directly in his eyes, she continued. "I think I am falling in love with you, Aaron Pierce." She dropped her eyes and fixed them on her hand on top of his. She felt, before she saw, his hand moving in hers to gently squeeze hers, wrapping those long fingers of his around her smaller hand.

"You know, Martha, I said a lot of things in that freezer, too." She looked up, confused.

"You did?"

"I did. Don't you remember? And be honest this time."

She smiled slightly, "I remember telling you how I felt, telling you you meant everything to me. I remember you wrapping your arms around me, and then everything went black."

Aaron laughed loudly, his voice making her jump slightly.

"What? What is it?"

"Martha, I'm from Texas. We are stereotypically known to be pretty monosyllabic, especially when it comes to our emotions. I delivered probably the longest, most heartfelt statement of my life to you in that freezer and you're telling me you weren't awake to hear it." He continued to chuckle to himself, and Martha felt herself joining in. She couldn't help it; his laughter was infectious.

"Well, I'm sorry I missed it, but I think I was a little busy slipping into unconsciousness at the time." She laughed. Oh, her throat was still so sore from that damn tube, she felt herself having to give in to a coughing fit.

"Are you alright? Here." He picked up the cup of water beside her bed and with his free hand and moved it toward her mouth. The straw bumped against her cheek, and he grabbed it to steady it against her lips as she took a long sip.

She drank from the cup he offered, but all her mind was focused on was that when he had moved the straw to her mouth his fingers were lightly brushing against her lips. She took another sip and said to herself, _"Okay, Martha, it's now or never."_

Moving her lips off the straw, she looked at him, and with her free hand took the cup from him. The hand he was still holding, she moved to gently cup the side of his face.

"So, seeing as I missed your grand soliloquy, you wanna share it with me now?" She raised one eyebrow flirtatiously at him.

Aaron took a deep breath, and in an instant knew what he had to do. "Maybe I should just show you." Closing the gap between them, he gently pressed his lips against hers; they stayed like that for a few seconds, then softly they began to move. It was a sweet kiss that left Martha feeling like she was back on her mood lifters. Wanting more, she moved her hand from his cheek and began to wrap it around his neck to deepen the kiss – she forgot, however, that inconveniently, she was still attached to a drip. As her hand tried to pull him in to her, the line pulled her back in the opposite direction. Frustrated, she lifted her other arm to pull him closer, forgetting she was holding the cup of ice water. Before she remembered, the cup had tipped and its contents spilled down Aaron's back. He pulled away quickly and gasped as the cold water soaked though his shirt on to his skin. He quickly looked at Martha who couldn't help it and let out a sweet sounding laugh at his shocked expression.

"Well, I've heard of taking a cold shower, but I have to admit I didn't expect one so soon!" he quipped, and moved back from her. Unfortunately, Martha's drip-lined hand was still holding his neck and as he moved away he felt the wire catch on his shoulder and pull against Martha's tender hand.

"Ow!" she shouted, as he gently tried to extract himself from the cat's cradle he had found himself wrapped in. She couldn't help it. Even though her hand hurt like hell, she began to laugh so hard that after a while her sides began to ache.

Aaron, after successfully removing himself from the tubing wrapped around him, looked at her. She was laughing so hard tears had began to form in her eyes. He smiled at her and reached out and touched her cheek. Almost instantly she stopped laughing and gazed into his eyes.

"You know. Have you noticed that every time we try to express how we are feeling, something disastrous happens." He smiled at her and continued gently stroking her cheek.

"Well." She purred, still recovering from her laughing fit. "Why don't we put your theory to the test and try again?"

"Oh, I never said I was going to let my theory stop me," he replied, and moved in to her.

The kiss they shared this time was perfect. Martha, learning from the earlier encounter, put her hands on either side of his face, stroking the glorious stubble she could feel under her fingers, while Aaron wrapped her in his arms to deepen the kiss. She could feel the softness of his tongue as she allowed him access to her entire mouth. He moved from her mouth to gently kiss a trail of sweet kisses down her jaw, and slowly traced a path down her collar bone. Moving her hands to his hair, she moaned slightly at the feel of his mouth on her bare skin. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this good. He moved her slightly in his arms to allow him to pay attention to the other side of her neck. And as he moved again to reclaim her mouth, she opened her eyes, looked over his shoulder, and gasped.

"What is it?" Aaron asked, concerned as he pulled away. She had been making noises while he was kissing her, but this was a gasp of shock, and he wondered what he had done wrong.

Laughing slightly, she moved back from him and said quietly, "I think we have company." She nodded her head towards the window with the open blind. He turned and saw the back of a black suit. Obviously it was one of the agents assigned to protect her while she was in the hospital. Turning back to her, he asked, "Did he see anything?"

Martha laughed softly. "Honey, I think he got a bit of an eyeful." Moving closer to him, she purred in his ear. "But you know what? I couldn't care less."

Aaron took another look over his shoulder and noticed the agent had moved a safe distance from the open window and had kept his back toward them. Good man, Aaron thought. Turning back to Martha, he once again found himself lost as his lips reclaimed hers.

This time it was Martha who pulled away first. Looking at him, she asked, "Aaron. I know this is new to us both, but I like it, and I think we should explore this further when I'm discharged." Uncertainly, she blinked at him. "As long as you want it, too."

Aaron stood slowly, feeling her hands fall from around his neck to rest on his chest and then they softly fell back onto the bed. Looking down at her, he thought again that he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Speaking softly but clearly he replied, "Martha, I couldn't think of anything in the world that would make me happier."

Looking slightly relieved, she smiled at him, and before she knew it, was trying to stifle a yawn. Aaron sat beside her on the bed once again and stroked her hands.

"But I think now you should get some rest."

Martha wanted nothing more than to once again be caught up in his arms, but she knew he was right. Besides, the sooner she was stronger, the sooner she would be out of here and they could begin to explore what it was that had developed between them. Now, that was a journey she was looking forward to taking.

Giving her hands one final squeeze, he placed them back on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. "Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?"

Martha could think of nothing she would like more, but he hadn't slept since their ordeal, and she knew that this time when she woke up, he would be waiting for her. "No. You go home, get some sleep and a change of clothes, and when you come back I will have slept and freshened up, and will no longer resemble a drowned rat!"

Leaning in to her again he whispered in her ear, "You have never looked more beautiful." He placed a soft but firm kiss on the top of her hair, and with difficulty pulled away. "I will be back this afternoon. I promise." Smiling fondly at him, she told him she knew he would. Just as she knew that as he left the room, she had never felt more content or happy. With the memory of his lips on hers, she smiled into her pillow, and giving one final sigh, fell back into a blissful sleep.


End file.
